Participation of Women in Indian Politics: Gender Justice and Political Challenge

The term ‘political participation’ has a very wide meaning. It is not only related to ‘Right to vote’ but simultaneously relates to participation in decision making process, political activism, political consciousness, etc. Political activism and voting are the strongest areas of women’s political participation. To combat gender inequality in politics, the Indian Government has instituted reservations for seats in local governments. Women turnout during India’s 2014 parliamentary general elections was 65.63%, compared to 67.09% turnout for men. India ranks 20th from the bottom in terms of representation of women in Parliament. Women have held the posts of president and prime minister in India, as well as chief ministers of various states. The level and forms of women’s participation in politics is largely shaped by cultural and societal barriers in the form of violence, discrimination and illiteracy. It has to be followed by large scale participation in the policy-formulation ad decision making process. This book is an attempt at analyzing the problems related to women’s political participation in the Indian context.